Mailbird Presents
The Ultimate
Guide to Gmail
Your guide to all the best Gmail
tips, tricks, and secrets
made with
Welcome to The Better Than
Ultimate Guide To Gmail
In this guide, we are going to show you the very best Gmail tricks,
hacks, and tips we've been able to scour from across dozens of top
sources including Hubspot, Mashable, and more.
By Mailbird
Gmail is an amazing tool. But, chances are good you have
only scratched the surface of how amazingly powerful a
tool it can be.
Want to turn your Gmail into a productivity powerhouse?
Need to make sure your Gmail account is as secure as possible?
Are you trying to become more organized?
Do you want to make using your inbox faster?
We've got you covered: On to the guide!
Table of Contents
Use the index below to find the perfect solution to what you need
to do in your Gmail account
1. Welcome to The Better Than Ultimate Guide To Gmail
In this guide, we are going to show you the very best Gmail tricks, hacks, and
tips we've been able to scour from across dozens of top sources including
Hubspot, Mashable, and more.
2. Create and Link tasks with Gmail
Make tasks while reading any email that are linked back to the message
3. Schedule meetings inside Gmail
Resolve meeting times by proposing available times, and allowing your
attendees to indicate where within your indicated timeframe they are also
available to meet.
4. Add Trello boards to your Gmail
Organize your emails into boards just like cards in Trello to keep things
organized or create a workflow.
5. Verify Authenticate Senders
Ensure emails from major retailers and brands are genuine with this Gmail
labs feature.
6. Find out what Emails are being tracked
Even before you open them, know what emails are being tracked by their
sender.
7. How to delete sent emails with Gmail
Revoke anyone's access to any email message using a gmail Chrome
extension.
8. Find Out Who Gave Out Your Email Address
Use Gmail's account name rules to create unique email addresses that work
with your Gmail account.
9. How to use Gmail offline
How to access your messages even when you don't have access to the
internet on your laptop or PC.
10. Turn Gmail group emails into chat conversations
Turn back and forth emails between a group of recipients into a real-time
chat where you can share videos, files, and collaborate on projects.
11. Turn Emails into chats with real people, and ignore
other messages
Identify emails from real people, and engage with them in a chat-like
interface. At the same time, ignore non-personal correspondence like
newsletters and marketing emails until you get back to your computer
12. Tinder-ize your Gmail inbox
Swipe to keep or discard messages. take on messages one at a time.
13. How to preview any email without opening it in Gmail
Add a third column to your Gmail window with a preview of the selected
message like in Mailbird, Outlook, and other Email clients.
14. Share Gmail labels with other Gmail users
Collaborate on building better workflows using shared labels in Gmail
15. Gmail Canned Responses
Save and send often-used responses and messages to save time.
16. Save Gmail attachments in Google Drive
Automatically download any attachments sent to your inbox in your Google
Drive so you never loose them.
17. Snooze Gmail messages and conversations for later
Remove messages from your inbox to address them in an hour, a day, a
week, or more – letting you clear your inbox without missing anything.
18. Get your contact’s social profiles, job titles, company
details, and more
See your recipient's twitter profile, latest tweet, Facebook updates, linkedin
profile, and demographics.
19. How to send emails from different addresses (even
non-Gmail ones)
Reply to emails from a different Email address than the one the original
message was sent to.
20. See details like your recipient’s Linkedin profile, Skype
address, and website in Gmail
Refer to details from Linkedin, your contact's website, start Skype
conversations, and more alongside your Gmail messages with them.
21. Know when someone opens your email and get
reminders to follow up
Find out when, how many times, and which recipeient has opened your
message. Also, get the option to auto-create followup reminders for them.
22. Unsend any Email using Gmail
Prevent any email sent using Gmail for a short period of time using this
setting
23. Make your own Gmail keyboard shortcuts
Use this Gmail labs feature to create your own shortcut combinations for
often-used functions.
24. Paste in Gmail without source formatting
Paste content in any gmail message without the source formatting so it
matches your default font, color, size, and weight.
25. Search and send GIFs in Gmail
Search for, and inject animated GIFs directly into your email messages.
26. Share large files using Gmail
Send links along with your message with permission to access the file,
allowing you to send large files without worrying about limits.
27. Speed up Gmail
Find and delete large, old emails to speed up your Gmail
28. Keep Gmail as the default email app
Force mailto: links and other applications to open using Gmail, and prevent
them from opening with other email clients.
29. Gmail keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet
Access a quick overview of all the Gmail keyboard shortcuts and a detailed
description of what each does.
30. Mute conversations in Gmail
Prevent further emails in the current conversation thread from showing in
your inbox.
31. Find out if someone else has access to your Gmail
account
See if anyone else has used your email account by checking your Gmail
recent activity logs.
32. Get the best email client for Gmail
Get Mailbird, the best way to manage mutliple Gmail accounts on Windows.
It's free, fast, and looks amazing!
Create and Link tasks with
Gmail
Make tasks while reading any email that are linked back to the
message
By Mailbird
When reading any message, click the “ more" button from the top menu and select
“Add to tasks “. You can then edit the task to include a due-date, reminders, and
more. Any task created in this way also notes any related messages which you can
refer back to if needed.
Schedule meetings inside
Gmail
Resolve meeting times by proposing available times, and allowing
your attendees to indicate where within your indicated timeframe
they are also available to meet.
By Mailbird
Mixmax is a popular Chrome extension for Gmail that lets you schedule meetings
using availability. You can propose a range of meeting times, and allow your
recipients to select what works for them until you narrow down the ideal time to
meet. Mixmax also includes a range of other options like in-email polls, tracking,
and more.
Add Trello boards to your
Gmail
Organize your emails into boards just like cards in Trello to keep
things organized or create a workflow.
By Mailbird
Sortd is a smart skin for Gmail that turns your inbox into a board where you can
drag and drop emails into columns following any workflow or sorting order you
want. This works great for contact or email workflows for sales teams, as well as
project management and planning.
Verify Authenticate Senders
Ensure emails from major retailers and brands are genuine with this
Gmail labs feature.
By Mailbird
Go to settings, labs, and activate the “ Authentication icon for verified senders "
feature. After reloading, any major brands commonly targeted by spammers
including Amazon, and Paypal will show up with a key symbol if they are from a
legitimate address used by that company.
Find out what Emails are
being tracked
Even before you open them, know what emails are being tracked by
their sender.
By Mailbird
Install Ugly Email, and anytime your email contains a tracking script it will appear
with what the extension calls “The evil eye". That way, you can always be sure
when someone may be alerted that you opened their message – a valuable piece of
information when you might not be able to get back to it right away.
How to delete sent emails
with Gmail
Revoke anyone's access to any email message using a gmail Chrome
extension.
By Mailbird
Dmail is a chrome extension that let's you “delete" sent messages using Gmail.
What it actually does is allow you to revoke access the the email. You can delete a
sent message at any time. Or, you can choose to indicate a period of time before
the message deletes itself. Best of all, your recipients don't need to use it to read
your emails.
Find Out Who Gave Out
Your Email Address
Use Gmail's account name rules to create unique email addresses
that work with your Gmail account.
By Mailbird
Did you know that punctuation is superfluous in Gmail email addresses? You can
add “." or “+" anywhere in your existing Gmail address and it will still appear in your
inbox. So, anytime you are signing up for something, try a different variation
“[email protected]" and make a note of it. Then, you can search or even set
up a filter to catch when someone uses that email configuration to send you
something.
How to use Gmail offline
How to access your messages even when you don't have access to
the internet on your laptop or PC.
By Mailbird
Gmail Offline is a Chrome app that let's you check your gmail accounts even if you
aren't online. Just make sure to at least activate it for each of the Gmail accounts
you manage. Also, it's a good idea to use it occasionally so it can grab all your most
recent emails for offline use.
Turn Gmail group emails into
chat conversations
Turn back and forth emails between a group of recipients into a
real-time chat where you can share videos, files, and collaborate on
projects.
By Mailbird
Unfortunately, Hop is only available on mobile. But, it is releasing a web extension
in April this year. With Hop, you can turn any email conversation or group
conversation into a chat just like any other chat client.
Turn Emails into chats with
real people, and ignore other
messages
Identify emails from real people, and engage with them in a chat-like
interface. At the same time, ignore non-personal correspondence
like newsletters and marketing emails until you get back to your
computer
By Mailbird
Mailburn is an iPhone application that let's you turn Gmail emails from people into
conversations like a chat program (think “Whatsapp"). What makes Mailburn
different, however, is that it organizes anything not directly from a person into a
newsletter feed, allowing you to manage emails from people more quickly and save
the announcements, sales, notices, etc for later.
Tinder-ize your Gmail inbox
Swipe to keep or discard messages. take on messages one at a time.
By Mailbird
Triage is a mobile-only email client that works with Gmail. If you have ever used
Tinder, then the idea will be familiar to you. You get one message at a time. You
can either choose to reply, archive, or keep it for later and it is shuffled back into
your deck.
How to preview any email
without opening it in Gmail
Add a third column to your Gmail window with a preview of the
selected message like in Mailbird, Outlook, and other Email clients.
By Mailbird
Gmail doesn't include a preview pane by default. However, you can activate it by
going to settings>labs and activating it by scrolling down to “ Preview Pane“,
activating it, and scrolling to the bottom and clicking save .
Share Gmail labels with other
Gmail users
Collaborate on building better workflows using shared labels in
Gmail
By Mailbird
Installing the Hiver extension for Gmail allows you to share your labels, contacts,
and more with other Gmail users. This can be great for organizations or teams
sharing a workflow or any other type of email management outside of a traditional
CMS.
Gmail Canned Responses
Save and send often-used responses and messages to save time.
By Mailbird
In the settings menu, go to Labs, and activate the “ Canned Responses " setting. The
next time you write a message, you will be able to write your first set of responses
by selecting the down-arrow and clicking “canned responses“. From that point on,
you can always inject your saved responses (including merge fields).
Save Gmail attachments in
Google Drive
Automatically download any attachments sent to your inbox in your
Google Drive so you never loose them.
By Mailbird
Visit Zapier's Gmail to Google Doc zap page. If you have never used Zapier, you will
need to create an account first. Next, you will need to follow the steps to grant
Zapier permission to manage your Gmail account and your Google Drive accounts.
Once set, your zap will deliver every attachment to your specified Google Drive
folder.
Snooze Gmail messages and
conversations for later
Remove messages from your inbox to address them in an hour, a
day, a week, or more – letting you clear your inbox without missing
anything.
By Mailbird
Install the Boomerang extension for Chrome and reload your Gmail window. Now,
anytime you get an email that you don't want to take care of immediately, click the
Boomerang button on the top menu bar and select a time when you would like it to
appear back in your inbox.
Get your contact’s social
profiles, job titles, company
details, and more
See your recipient's twitter profile, latest tweet, Facebook updates,
linkedin profile, and demographics.
By Mailbird
FullContact is a Chrome extension that brings every detail about your Gmail
contacts into a side-pane alongside your messages from them. You can also make
notes, apply labels, and add them via other social networks you may not have
connected with them yet. An added bonus for sales people or HR is that it also
pulls through details on your contacts company including it's social profiles and
activity.
How to send emails from
different addresses (even
non-Gmail ones)
Reply to emails from a different Email address than the one the
original message was sent to.
By Mailbird
Go to settings, Accounts & Import , and add your other email accounts in the “ Send
mail as" section. Once added, you will be able to click on your portrait in any quick-
reply or pop-out message composer window to select which account you would
like the message sent from. It will also apply any signatures you have set up.
See details like your
recipient’s Linkedin profile,
Skype address, and website in
Gmail
Refer to details from Linkedin, your contact's website, start Skype
conversations, and more alongside your Gmail messages with them.
By Mailbird
Install the Chrome extension Rapportive and follow it's steps to allow it access to
your Linkedin account. After reloading your Gmail, you will begin to see all your
contact's details show up alongside their emails. In addition, Rapportive will let you
know when you are not connected with someone, giving you the perfect
opportunity to grow your Linkedin network.
Know when someone opens
your email and get reminders
to follow up
Find out when, how many times, and which recipeient has opened
your message. Also, get the option to auto-create followup
reminders for them.
By Mailbird
Install the Chrome extension FollowUp and sign in using whatever method you
prefer. You will also need to grant the app permission to manage your Gmail. Once
it's installed, you will see new options in your Gmail compose window including the
option to track that email, send it later, and more.
Unsend any Email using
Gmail
Prevent any email sent using Gmail for a short period of time using
this setting
By Mailbird
Go to the settings menu in Gmail, and on the “ General" tab scroll down to “ Undo
Send“. Here, you can activate the feature by clicking the radio button and
indicating the period of time you would like to be able to undo sending any
message. When activated, this feature holds the email in your outbox before
sending, giving you time to unsend it.
Make your own Gmail
keyboard shortcuts
Use this Gmail labs feature to create your own shortcut
combinations for often-used functions.
By Mailbird
Go to settings, click on the “ Labs" tab, and click the radio button to activate
Custom keyboard shortcuts. Then, click save at the bottom of the labs page to
reload Gmail with Custom Keyboard Shortcuts activated. If you go to settings with
the labs feature active, you will see a tab marked “Keyboard Shortcuts" where you
can now change or add your own
Paste in Gmail without source
formatting
Paste content in any gmail message without the source formatting
so it matches your default font, color, size, and weight.
By Mailbird
To paste anything and have it match your Gmail's defualt message fotmat (font,
weight, color, etc) simply right click and select "paste and match style". If you are
on a touchscreen, simply long-press to bring up these options.
Search and send GIFs in
Gmail
Search for, and inject animated GIFs directly into your email
messages.
By Mailbird
Giphy's Chrome extension allows Gmail users the ability to search through it's
database of popular gifs, and include them in the body of their emails simply by
clicking the icon in the formatting toolbar.
Share large files using Gmail
Send links along with your message with permission to access the
file, allowing you to send large files without worrying about limits.
By Mailbird
Dropbox has a great Chrome extension that allows you to include sharing links to
your Dropbox files without having to open Dropbox and copy/paste it manually.
Best of all, this method allows you share giant files in a jiffy.
Speed up Gmail
Find and delete large, old emails to speed up your Gmail
By Mailbird
FindBigMail finds, sorts, and lets you delete big emails. This can have an amazing
effect in speeding up your Gmail account. It can also make it much faster to check
your Gmail account using email clients, since they need to download your
messages.
Keep Gmail as the default
email app
Force mailto: links and other applications to open using Gmail, and
prevent them from opening with other email clients.
By Mailbird
Send with Gmail not only adds a small button in your Chrome task bar that allows
you to compose quick emails. It also forces any links or prompts to open your
default email client to use Gmail. If you routinely find your system trying to open
native email clients instead of your Gmail, then this extension is for you.
Gmail keyboard shortcuts
cheat sheet
Access a quick overview of all the Gmail keyboard shortcuts and a
detailed description of what each does.
By Mailbird
To activate the keyboard shortcuts and get access to the cheatsheet, go to Settings
> General > Keyboard shortcuts and select the radio button next to “ Keyboard
shortcuts on." Save your settings before exiting. With the shortcuts activated, you
can press Press Shift–? any time to display a complete cheatsheet with all the
keyboard shortcuts.
Mute conversations in Gmail
Prevent further emails in the current conversation thread from
showing in your inbox.
By Mailbird
To prevent any further emails in a email thread from clogging up your inbox, click
on “more" with the email conversation open. Then, click on Mute. No more emails
in that thread will show up as new emails in your inbox.
Find out if someone else has
access to your Gmail account
See if anyone else has used your email account by checking your
Gmail recent activity logs.
By Mailbird
If you are concerned your account has been hacked, you can check your Gmail
activity logs by scrolling to the bottom of your Gmail window and clicking on
“Details" (see screenshot). A new window will open with all your account activity
including extension, app, and client access logs. When in doubt, it's best to change
your password anyway.
Get the best
email client for
Gmail
Get Mailbird, the best way to
manage mutliple Gmail accounts on
Windows. It's free, fast, and looks
amazing!
Try Mailbird 100% Free
made with
